A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes

by Adam Rutherford

They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. I offer no comment on the psychological or parental aspects of Philip Larkin’s poem, but from a biological point of view, it’s spot on. Each time an egg or sperm is made, the shuffle produces new variation, unique differences in the people that host them. You’ll inherit your parents’ DNA in unique combinations, and in that process – meiosis – you also will have invented some brand new genetic variations, just for you. Some of those will get passed on if you have children, and they will acquire their own as well.